Courage and Truths
by Christine Erik
Summary: Setting is post-"Don't Cry For Me, Albuquerque," so beware of some spoilers there. Rating is T, just to be safe. Minor M/M. One-shot. A little bit OOC. Please read & review!


Post-"Don't Cry For Me, Albuquerque," so...

**Spoilers?: Probably just "Don't Cry For Me, Albuquerque"**

**Rating: T**, just to be safe.

This is my first "In Plain Sight" story, so please be kind. ** Please do review!!**

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**3 Days Later**

Everyone was still in the private waiting room—Brandi slouched in a chair; Jinx laying over two, with Raph's jacket over her as a blanket; Raph, dozing lightly in a chair at the end of the table; Marshall, lost in thought, pacing near the door. Finally, the monotony was broken upon the quiet entrance of a nurse.

"Excuse me," she said, walking up to Marshall. "Are you Marshall Mann?"

Marshall stopped mid-step, his sore eyes narrowing. "Yes, that would be me. Why?"

"Ms. Shannon is starting to awaken. She asked for you."

Marshall couldn't believe what he heard. "Surely you must mean her fiancée, Raphael. He's right over—"

"She asked for you by name, sir."

Marshall, torn over whether or not to tell the others of the developments or just go see Mary, turned to look back at the group and saw Raphael rising.

"Go, Marshall," Raph said. "I can wait. It's never been about me, anyways…it was always you." When Raph saw the shocked look on Mann's face, he only smiled slightly. "Did you think I didn't know that she doesn't wear her ring at work? She may be good at her job, but it's hard to keep something like that a secret." Raph paused before continuing. "Marshall…Mary is yours. You are the one she dreams about at night. When you call, she drops everything to answer. No earthly force can keep you two apart. As much as I care about her, I can't have her go through with the wedding. Tell her to keep the ring, and tell her I'll be here if she ever needs me. For now, though, I'm going to find myself a new place to stay."

For the first time since Mary told him that she'd told Raph that she worked at WitSec, Marshall Mann found himself speechless. All he could do was watch while Raph left as quietly as the nurse had arrived. He remained lost in thought, pondering what Raphael had just told him, until the nurse lightly touched his arm.

"Sir, would you like to see her? I have to get back to work, but I'd be happy to—"

"I know where her room is," Marshall said, "but thank you."

The nurse nodded curtly and left. Not wanting to miss the opportunity to speak with his partner, he nearly ran to her room, and knocked softly before heading inside. Upon entering the room, he immediately noticed Mary slamming the remote control to the television against the side of her bed in an effort to make it work. He watched her as she muttered and cursed under her breath about the costs of staying in hospitals compared to the payoffs. As it was evident that Mary had not heard him enter, he felt it necessary to announce his presence.

"You know, the remote control as we know it today was invented as a result of Zenith Radio Corporation's remote called the 'Lazy Bones.'"

Mary rolled her eyes and tried to speak. Her question of why he felt the need to share such information with her went unanswered, as she fell unconscious yet again. For the next fourteen hours, Marshall never left Mary's side. Finally, she woke up again and muttered something.

Marshall leaned in close. "What was that?"

"I want Marshall, I need Marshall," she mumbled.

"I'm right here, Mare. What do you need?"

Suddenly she was wide awake, but in an obviously anxious state. "Promise me you'll never leave. Not like him. Promise me."

Marshall took one look at her pleading eyes and just knew he was a goner. "You've got it, Mare. I will never leave you. Not now, not then, not ever."

Mary laid back onto the not-so-soft pillow, relieved, and promptly fell asleep again.

Boy, did he have his hands full with this one.

Marshall called the nurse's station and had them wake and bring in Jinx and Brandi. When Mary was surrounded by her mother and sister, Marshall went back to the waiting room to call and update the boss, who picked up after one ring.

"Marshall. What's news?"

"She's starting to wake up, finally, and is starting to speak."

Stan McQueen was immediately on full alert. "Okay. You hang tight. I'll be there in ten."

As soon as he was off the phone with Stan, Marshall called Bobby Dershowitz and repeated the process with the same end result.

Soon enough, everyone was sitting quietly in Mary Shannon's room, waiting for her to wake up. Everyone—that is, everyone except for Marshall, who took it upon himself to stay by the door, just in case. He remained there until he heard a quiet raspy voice call out to him.

"Jesus Christ, Marshall. It's not like the shooter's gonna show up and try to finish me off with all of you here. Come sit the frick down and relax."

Marshall smiled to himself. Even in her current state, Mary could make him do anything just by asking him to. Jinx pulled a chair next to the bed and gestured for him to sit. He gladly did, and stole glances of Mary Shannon in these vulnerable moments. She looked just as beautiful as she ever did. He knew that, soon enough, she'd go back to being her tough, no-nonsense WitSec inspector self, but for right now, she was just a girl in a hospital. At least, that's what he told himself.

It was nearing 8 PM and Marshall was gesturing in the middle of a lecture on the amazingness of something or another—Mary couldn't remember what (nor did she really care at this point)—when the nurse came and informed everyone that visiting hours were over. Marshall rose and started to leave, when Mary grabbed one of his hands in hers and held it next to her on the bed. "Don't leave," she pleaded. "I can't be here alone."

Marshall sighed. "Let me go talk to the nurse, and we'll see what we can do." In ten minutes, he returned and sank into the chair by the bed. "The hospital administrators have approved my stay with you, on the condition that I act as your security guard." He closed his eyes for a moment, then asked if there was anything she needed.

_You!_ she thought. _I need you!_ Mary didn't' think she would EVER see Marshall as out-of-sorts and unkempt as he was at that moment, nor did she ever think she'd be so happy to see that handsome face as much as she did right then. After days of little to no rest, long days at the office, and this new bombshell Raph decided to drop on him, Marshall was just flat-out exhausted, and Mary could see it. "Come here," she said. When Marshall looked confused, she just repeated herself. "Come over here!" When he finally did, she scooted over a little bit on the bed and patted the space next to her. When Marshall started to shake his head, he lowered her tone and lost some attitude. "Please, Marshall. For me?"

That was a low blow, and they both knew it, but Marshall climbed in anyway.

"What's this about, Mare?"

"Listen, doofus. You are my best friend. Whenever I need help with anything, or just want to rant, or whatever, I can always call you." Seeing that Marshall was going to interrupt her, she silenced him before he began by putting a finger to his lips. "I may only have the courage to say this once, and I don't want to lose the chance. Marshall, you are much more than a friend to me. I won't lie—I didn't love Raph. He's a great guy and all, but he's…well, he…he's no _you_. I know that we can't be together both at and outside of work, but I thought you should know."

Seconds seemed to become minutes and hours as Mary's eyes searched Marshall's face for any kind of reaction. Finally, he spoke up. "I had no idea you felt the same way. That's why I didn't go out, Mare. Those girls can be stereotypically perfect, but they all share the same flaw: they are not you. I don't know what we're going to do now. I guess all we can do is compartmentalize and not bring it up at work and hope Stan doesn't notice. I'm willing to wait as long as you need to. For now, though, we should get some rest."

No sooner had he said this than Mary was fast asleep. "I know you may not be able to say it to me," he whispered, gently moving strands of hair away from her face, "but I love you, Mary Shannon." She grunted something in her sleep and pushed closer to him, her head up against his chest as if she needed protection. He pulled her as close to him as he could, kissed her forehead, and held her close, afraid to let go.

Raph dropped by early the next morning, hoping to catch Mary before anyone else got there. He walked into her room and set a small bouquet of flowers on the table. Turning to talk to her, he saw Mary and Marshall together on the bed, each looking completely at peace, in what was quite possibly the most natural position he'd ever seen. As much as it hurt to see, he smiled, knowing that she was in the best hands possible and that each was the other's protector: neither Mary nor Marshall looked to be the dominant one of the two there, and Raph was just glad to have been a part of it at all. Mary would heal in her own time with the aid of Marshall, Jinx, Brandi, and Stan; Raph was no longer an integral part of her life. At least, not to the degree he was before.

_After all_, he figured, _who am I to stand in the way of true love?_

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**Alright, y'all. Please let me know what you think, and review!! Thanks in advance! :-D  
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